Test: Comparison - GMAT MCQ

Unlike Kant’s theory of rationality, insisting that the universe may be understood through the individual’s powers of perception, there are areas of understanding that the human mind, which is limited by its cognitive abilities, may never have access to, as proposed by Hegel’s theory of rationality. 

Meaning Analysis

• Unlike Kant’s theory of rationality,
  • insisting that the universemay be understood through the individual’s powers of perception,
• there are areas of understanding
  • that the human mind,
    • which is limited by its cognitive abilities,
  • may never have access to, as proposed by Hegel’s theory of rationality.

The sentence presents a contrast. The intended contrast is between Kant’s theory of rationality and Hegel’s theory of rationality. There is a contrast between these two theories because Kant’s theory insists that individuals may understand the universe through their powers of perception whereas Hegel’s theory of rationality says that there are areas of understanding that the human mind may never have access to because the human mind is limited by its cognitive abilities. So Hegel’s theory implies that the universe may not be understood through the individual’s power of perception.

Error Analysis

The sentence presents an illogical contrast as the entities contrasted are “Kant’s theory” and “areas of understanding”. The entity that should be contrasted to “Kant’s theory” is “Hegel’s theory”. This is the only error in the sentence.

Answer Choices

A

Unlike Kant’s theory of rationality, insisting that the universe may be understood through the individual’s powers of perception, there are areas of understanding that the human mind, which is limited by its cognitive abilities, may never have access to, as proposed by Hegel’s theory of rationality.

Incorrect: This choice has the error pointed out in the error analysis.

B

Insisting that the universe may be understood through the individual’s powers of perception, Kant’s theory of rationality is not like Hegel’s theory that, limited by its cognitive abilities, proposes that the human mind will never have access to certain areas of understanding.

Incorrect:  

1)    This choice corrects the contrast error, but introduces other errors. Placement of the verb-ed modifier “limited by…” now illogically modifies “Hegel’s theory” instead of “the human mind”.

2)    Also, Hegel’s theory presents the probability that the human mind “may” not have access to certain areas of understanding. But according to this choice, that probability has been turned into surety by the use of “will”. This usage leads to a change in the intended meaning. 

C

Hegel’s theory of rationality, unlike Kant’s, which insists that the universe may be understood through the individual’s powers of perception, proposes that there are areas of understanding that the human mind, limited by its cognitive abilities, may never have access to.

Correct: This choice presents the intended contrast correctly and clearly.

D

Even though Hegel’s theory of rationality proposing that the human mind, limited by its cognitive abilities, may never have access to certain areas of understanding, Kant’s theory insists that the universe may be understood through the individual’s powers of perception.

Incorrect:

There is no verb for the subject “Hegel’s theory” as ‘proposing’ is a verb-ing modifier that now modifies “Hegel’s theory”. 

E

Unlike Hegel’s theory of rationality limited by its cognitive abilities proposing that there are areas of understanding that the human mind may never have access to, Kant’s insists that the universe may be understood through the individual’s powers of perception.

Incorrect:  This choice repeats the illogical modification error in “limited by…” as in Choice B.

In theory, the function of the government in the capitalist system appears less important than the socialist system, in which the government is primarily responsible for societal equality. 

Meaning Analysis  

• In theory, the function of the government in the capitalist system appears less important than the socialist system,
  • in which the government is primarily responsible for societal equality.

The sentence presents a comparison. According to the context of the sentence, theoretically, the function of the government in the capitalist system seems to be less important than the function of the government in the socialist system. In the socialist system, the government’s main job is to provide societal equality.

Error Analysis

While we can infer the correct meaning of the sentence, the two entities that are compared in the sentence are not logically parallel. The sentence compares “the function of the government in the capitalist system” with “the socialist system”. This comparison is illogical. The function of the government in both the systems must be compared. This is the only error in the sentence.  

Answer Choices

A

In theory, the function of the government in the capitalist system appears less important than the socialist system, in which the government is primarily responsible for societal equality.

Incorrect: This choice has the comparison error found in the error analysis.  

B

The function of the government in the capitalist system, in theory appearing less important than the socialist system, in which the government is primarily responsible for societal equality.

Incorrect:

1)    There is no verb for the subject “the function of the government in the capitalist system”.

2)    This choice retains the comparison error of Choice A.     

C

Appearing to be less important than that of the socialist system in theory, the function of the government in the capitalist system is the one in which the government is primarily responsible for societal equality.  

Incorrect:

Although it presents a logical comparison, this choice completely distorts the intended meaning of the sentence According to this choice, the function of the government in the capitalist system includes providing societal equality. This is the opposite of the intended meaning. According to the original sentence, it is the function of the government in the socialist system to provide social equality.   

D

In theory, the function of the government in the capitalist system appears to be less important than in the socialist system, in which the government is primarily responsible for societal equality.    

Correct:

This indeed is the correct answer choice. By adding “in” before “the socialist system”, this choice corrects the comparison error of the original choice.         

E

In theory, the function of the government in the capitalist system, in which the government is primarily responsible for societal equality, appears to be less important than in the socialist system.

Incorrect:

The placement of the modifier “in which…” is incorrect because it now modifies “the capitalist system” instead of “the socialist system,” leading to the same meaning error that Choice C has.   

Whereas empiricism, established by thinkers such as John Locke, prioritizing matter over the abstract, romanticism ranks the imagination higher than the material world. 

Meaning Analysis  

• Whereas empiricism,
  • • established by thinkers such as John Locke,
  • prioritizing matter over the abstract,
• romanticism ranks the imagination higher than the material world.

This sentence presents a contrast between romanticism and empiricism. Empiricism was established by thinkers such as John Locke.

The contrast is as follows:

1. According to empiricism matter is more important than the abstract.  
2. Romanticism ranks the imagination higher than the material world. 

Error Analysis

The subject “empiricism” does not have a verb since the verb-ing form “prioritizing” alone cannot function as a verb.  

Answer Choices

A

Locke, prioritizing matter over the abstract, romanticism ranks 

Incorrect:       

This choice has the error pointed out in the error analysis. 

B

Locke, prioritizes matter over the abstract, romanticism ranking 

Incorrect:       

There is no verb for the subject “romanticism”.

C

Locke who prioritizes matter over the abstract, romanticism ranked 

Incorrect:       

1)     The modifier “who” changes the intended meaning. As per this choice the meaning is that Locke prioritizes matter over the abstract while per the original sentence empiricism does so.   

2)     There is no verb for the subject “empiricism”. 

3)     The simple past tense verb “ranked” is incorrectly used to present a universal truth.

D

Locke, prioritizes matter over the abstract, romanticism ranks    

Correct: 

This choice corrects the only error of the original sentence.     

E

Locke, prioritizes matter over the abstract, romanticism, which ranks    

Incorrect:         

There is no verb for the subject “romanticism” since “which” is the subject of the verb “ranks” in this choice.

The part the wildlife of America had played in the settlement and development of the American continent was so far-reaching in extent and enormous in potential value that it defeats the imagination. 

Meaning Analysis  

• The part
  • the wildlife of America had played in the settlement and development of the American continent
• was
  • so far-reaching in extent and
  • enormous in potential value
    • that it defeats the imagination.           

This sentence talks about the role of the wildlife of America in the settlement and development of the American continent. It says that this role was so far-reaching in magnitude and so tremendous in potential value that it goes beyond what we can imagine.

Error Analysis

1)     The use of the past perfect tense verb “had played” is incorrect since there is no related event from the past for which sequencing is needed. This is a general fact from the past and hence must be conveyed in the simple past tense.

2)     This sentence uses the expression “so X1 and so X2 that Y”. However, “so” before X2 (enormous) is missing, distorting the parallelism of the sentence.

Note that the simple present tense verb “defeats” is used correctly to present a general fact.

Answer Choices

A

the wildlife of America had played in the settlement and development of the American continent was so far-reaching in extent and enormous in potential value that it defeats

Incorrect:               

This choice has the errors pointed out in the error analysis. 

B

the wildlife of America played in the settlement and development of the American continent was so far-reaching in extent and enormous in potential value that they defeat 

Incorrect:              

1)     This choice has the same parallelism error as in choice A.

2)     The plural pronoun “they” does not agree with the singular antecedent “the part” in number. 

C

played by the wildlife of America in the settlement and development of the American continent was far-reaching in extent and enormous in potential value, it has defeated 

Incorrect:           

1)     This choice connects two independent clauses “The part… was…” and “it has…” using just a comma. This structure is incorrect.  

2)     The present perfect tense verb “has defeated” is incorrectly used to present a universal truth.

D

that the wildlife of America played in the settlement and development of the American continent was so far-reaching in extent and so enormous in potential value that it defeats    

Correct:

This choice corrects both the errors of the original sentence by changing the past perfect tense to the simple past tense and by using “so” before “enormous”.           

E

the wildlife of America had played in the settlement and development of the American continent was so far-reaching in extent and so enormous in potential value that it defeats    

Incorrect:          

This choice has the same verb tense error as in choice A

Though the Atlantic pilot whale’s flippers can reach one-fifth of their body length or more, the flippers of the short-finned pilot whale are only about one-sixth of their body length.

Meaning Analysis

• Though the Atlantic pilot whale’s flippers can reach one-fifth of their body length or more,
• the flippers of the short-finned pilot whales are only about one-sixth of their body length.

This sentence presents a contrast between the length of the flippers of two types of whale. It says that while the length of the flippers of the short-finned whale is about one-sixth of its body length, the length of the flippers of the Atlantic pilot whale can reach at least one-fifth of its body length.   

Error Analysis

The plural pronoun “their” does not agree in number with the singular noun “the Atlantic pilot whale”.  Also, the expression – one-fifth of their body length or more – is wordy.  This expression can be written concisely as – at least one-fifth of their body length.

Answer Choices

A

Though the Atlantic pilot whale’s flippers can reach one-fifth of their body length or more, the flippers of the short-finned pilot whale are only about one-sixth of their body length.

Incorrect:

This choice has the error pointed out in the error analysis.

B

The flippers of short-finned pilot whale reach only about one-sixth of its body length, while those of the Atlantic pilot whale can reach at least one-fifth of the Atlantic pilot whale’s body length.

Correct:

This sentence correctly presents the contrast between the flippers of short-finned pilot whales and the flippers of the Atlantic pilot whales, using “while” as the contrast key word.

C

Although that of the Atlantic pilot whale can reach one-fifth or more of its body length, the short-finned pilot whale’s flippers only reach about one-sixth of the body length.

Incorrect:      

1)     The singular pronoun “that” does not agree with the plural noun “the flippers” in number.

2)     This choice also has the wordy error as Choice A does. 

3)     Furthermore, by saying “one-sixth of the body length”, this choice does not clarify whose body length is being talked about.

D

While those of the short-finned pilot whale can reach over one-sixth of the body length, the Atlantic pilot whales’ flippers are only one-fifth or more.

Incorrect:      

It’s not clear that the Atlantic pilot whales’ flippers are one-fifth of what.  This choice changes the intended meaning by saying that the size of flippers of short-finned pilot whale can reach “OVER” the reference measure instead of the intended meaning that indicated “MAX” the reference measure.

E

The Atlantic pilot whale has flippers that can reach one-fifth of its body length or more, while the flippers of the short-finned pilot whale only reach about one-sixth of their body length.

Incorrect:      

1)     The pronoun “their” does not agree in number with the singular noun “the short-finned whale.”

2)     This choice also has the wordy error as Choice A does.  

Apple, the company that has the highest revenue per employee, focuses more on simple and functional design than its competitors.

Meaning Analysis

• Apple,
  • the company that has the highest revenue per employee,
• focuses more on simple and functional design than its competitors.

The sentence presents a comparison. However, the way this sentence is written, one can infer two comparisons:

First Comparison: Apple focuses more on simple and functional design than on its competitors. Entities Compared à “simple and functional design” and “competitors”.

Second Comparison: Apple focuses more on simple and functional design than its competitors focus on. Entities Compared à “Apple” and “its competitors”.

The correct sentence should clearly state one unambiguous meaning.

Error Analysis

If the sentence is intended to compare simple and functional design and competitors (stating that Apple focuses on design more than it focuses on its competitors), then we need the pronoun “on” before “its competitors” to make the comparison clear.

If the sentence is intended to compare Apple and its competitors (stating that Apple focuses on design more than its competitors do), then we need the helping verb “do” before “its competitors” to make the comparison clear.

Answer Choices

A

more on simple and functional design than

Incorrect: This choice has the error pointed out in the error analysis.

B

on more simple yet functional design than

Incorrect:   

1)     This choice repeats the same ambiguous comparison error as in choice A.

2)     Change of placement of “more” changes the meaning. As per the original sentence, “more” modifies “focuses”. Apple focuses more on design than its competitors. As per this choice, “more” modifies “simple”. Here the emphasis is not on the action of focusing but on the design itself.

3)     Use of “yet” changes the meaning. As per the original choice, “and” suggests that the design is simple and functional. Use of the word “yet” brings in a contrast, implying that even though the design is simple, it is functional. The original sentence does not present this contrast.          

C

more on simple and functional design than on

Correct:

Use of the preposition “on” makes the comparison clear. The sentence states that Apple focuses on design more than it focuses on its competitors.

D

on simple and functional design than

Incorrect:

1)     Use of “than” requires the use of some comparative terms such as “more” to present the comparison. Without the word “more,” the comparison is incomplete. 

2)     This choice repeats the same ambiguous comparison error as in choice A.    

E

more on simple design and is more functional than are

Incorrect:     

1)     This choice distorts the intended meaning. As per this choice, the subject for “is” is “Apple”. The choice states that Apple is more functional whereas, per the original choice, the design is functional.

2)     Also, the choice suggests a comparison between Apple and the competitors on the basis that Apple is more functional. This is certainly not the intended meaning of the sentence. 

Although it is widely believed that a lack of adequate savings can lead to extreme financial hardship, as much as one-third of Americans reportedly have no retirement savings whatsoever.  

Meaning Analysis  

• Although it is widely believed
  • that a lack of adequate savings can lead to extreme financial hardship,
    • as much as one-third of Americans reportedly have no retirement savings whatsoever.                

The author presents a contrast here: 

1. Although is widely believed that insufficient savings can result in extremely hard financial conditions,
2. it is reported that almost one-third of American people don’t have any retirement savings.

Error Analysis

The expression “as much as” is incorrectly used to refer to the countable noun “one-third of Americans”. It can refer only to uncountable nouns.

Answer Choices

A

it is widely believed that a lack of adequate savings can lead to extreme financial hardship, as much as one-third of Americans reportedly have  

Incorrect:

This choice has the error pointed out in the error analysis.  

B

it has been widely believed that a lack of adequate savings can lead to extreme financial hardship, as many as one-third of Americans reportedly have  

Incorrect:

Use of the present perfect tense verb “it has been widely believed” is incorrect since this statement is a general fact and hence must be written in the simple present tense. 

C

it is widely believed that a lack of adequate savings can lead to extreme financial hardship, as many as one-third of Americans reportedly have  

Correct:

This choice removes the error in the original sentence by replacing “as much as” with “as many as”.   

D

a lack of adequate savings can lead, it is widely believed, to extreme financial hardship, as much as one-third of Americans have reported    

Incorrect: 

1. This choice repeats the idiom error of Choice A.
2. It also distorts the intended meaning by stating that Americans have reported something. This part also incorrectly uses the present perfect tense verb “have reported.” This action should be written in the simple present tense as per the original sentence.    

E

it is widely believed, as many as one-third of Americans reportedly have a lack of adequate savings, leading to extreme financial hardship and    

Incorrect:

This choice completely distorts the intended meaning of the sentence.

1. It does not specify what is widely believed.
2. The contrast is illogically between “it is widely believed” and “as many as one-third of Americans reportedly have…”
3. “Extreme financial hardship” and “no savings whatsoever” are both presented as the results of the fact that Americans have a lack of adequate savings. This meaning is not in the original sentence.

After comparing the Neanderthal DNA to the same stretch of DNA from human mitochondria and to equivalent chimpanzee DNA, geneticists have found that the Neanderthal DNA was more similar to human DNA than chimp DNA.

Meaning Analysis

• Geneticists compared the Neanderthal DNA to the human DNA and to equivalent chimpanzee DNA.
• Now the way this sentence is written, we can infer two meanings here:
• Meaning 1: Neanderthal DNA was more similar to human DNA than was the chimp DNA. Entities compared Neanderthal DNA and chimp DNA.
• Meaning 2: Neanderthal DNA was more similar to human DNA than to the chimp DNA. Entities compared human DNA and chimp DNA.

Error Analysis

• Clause 1: After comparing the Neanderthal DNA to the same stretch of DNA from human mitochondria and to equivalent chimpanzee DNA, geneticists have found
• Clause 2: that the Neanderthal DNA was more similar to human DNA than chimp DNA.

As we saw in the meaning analysis, the way this sentence is written, it presents ambiguous comparison.

If the intended comparison is between Neanderthal DNA and chimp DNA, then we need to repeat “was” before “the chimp DNA” to clarify the comparison.

If the intended comparison is between human DNA and chimp DNA, then we need to repeat preposition “to” before “the chimp DNA” to clarify the comparison.

We will do the PoE to find out the correct answer. 

Answer Choices

A

have found that the Neanderthal DNA was more similar to human DNA than chimp DNA

Incorrect for ambiguous comparison.

B

might find that the Neanderthal DNA was more similar to human than chimp

Incorrect

Error 1: Use of “might” is incorrect as it denotes that there is possibility that the geneticists may find the stated similarity. However, the original sentence says that geneticists have already found the similarity.

Error 2: This choice illogically compares Neanderthal DNA to “human” and “chimp” and not their DNAs.

C

have found that the Neanderthal’s was more similar to human’s than chimp’s

Incorrect

Error 1: This choice repeats the error of choice A.  The only difference is that the entities have been written using possessive case.  Neanderthal’s (DNA), human’s (DNA), and chimp’s (DNA). Hence, this choice also presents ambiguous comparison.

D

have found that the Neanderthal DNA was more similar to human DNA than to chimp DNA

Correct.

This choice clarifies the comparison by repeating preposition “to” before “chimp DNA”. Hence, the intended comparison is between human DNA and chimp DNA.

E

found that the Neanderthal DNA was more similar than human DNA and chimp DNA

Incorrect.

Error 1: This choice does not have “to”. This removal leads to distorted meaning. Now we don’t know that the similarity of Neanderthal’s DNA is measured to who or what.

In extraction metallurgy industries they utilize a larger percentage of their profit in cleaning of their plants than non-metallurgy industries do in purchasing raw material.

Meaning Analysis  

• In extraction metallurgy industries
• they utilize a larger percentage of their profit in cleaning of their plants
• than non-metallurgy industries do in purchasing raw material.

This sentence presents a comparison. The intended contrast is between the “extraction metallurgy industries” and “non-metallurgy industries”. The point of comparison is that the former spends more money in cleaning their plants than the latter does in buying purchasing raw materials.   

Error Analysis

1)     The pronoun “they” does not seem to have any function since it is placed directly after the noun it refers to.

2)     The phrase “cleaning of their plants” is not idiomatic. It should be “cleaning their plants.”

Answer Choices

A

In extraction metallurgy industries they utilize a larger percentage of their profit in cleaning of their plants than non-metallurgy industries do in purchasing raw material.

Incorrect: This choice has the errors pointed out in the error analysis.

B

In extraction metallurgy industries, a larger percentage of their profit is utilized for cleaning their plants than is utilized for purchasing raw material in non-metallurgy industries. 

Incorrect:

This choice presents an illogical comparison and distorts the meaning of the sentence. As per this choice, extraction metallurgy industries spend more money in cleaning their plants than they do in buying raw materials in non-metallurgy industries.  

C

Extraction metallurgy industries utilize a larger percentage of their profit in cleaning their plants than non-metallurgy industries do in purchasing raw material.

Correct:

This choice is the correct answer as it states the comparison clearly and communicates the intended meaning of the sentence.   

D

Extraction metallurgy industries utilize a larger percentage of their profit in cleaning their plants than the raw materials purchasing of non-metallurgy industries.   

Incorrect:

This choice has the same comparison and meaning error as explained in Choice B.

E

A larger percentage of extraction metallurgy industries’ profit is utilized in cleaning its plants than non-metallurgy industries utilize in purchasing raw material. 

Incorrect:

1)     This choice presents an illogical comparison between “A larger… profit” and “non-metallurgy industries”.

2)     The singular pronoun “its” does not agree in number with its plural antecedent “extraction metallurgy industries”. 

Analyzing over 380 galaxy systems from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a huge collection of galactic data, astronomers have found conclusive proof that confirms dwarf galaxies having a well-defined route to orbit large galaxies rather than that of chaotic paths. 

Meaning Analysis

• Analyzing over 380 galaxy systems from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey,
  • a huge collection of galactic data,
• astronomers have found conclusive proof
  • that confirms dwarf galaxies having a well-defined route to orbit large galaxies
    • rather than that of chaotic paths.

The sentence talks about a discovery by astronomers. Some astronomers analyzed more than 380 galaxy systems from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The SDSS is a huge collection of galactic data. After their analyses, the astronomers have conclusive proof that dwarf galaxies have a well-defined route to circle around the large galaxies. Their orbits do not go about in chaotic paths. 

Error Analysis

1)    The way this sentence has been written, it suggests that the conclusive proof confirms the dwarf galaxies themselves. But from the context of the sentence, we know that the proof confirms “something” about the dwarf galaxies.

2)    Also the pronoun “that of” does not have any logical antecedent in the sentence.  

Answer Choices

A

astronomers have found conclusive proof that confirms dwarf galaxies having a well-defined route to orbit large galaxies rather than that of 

Incorrect: This choice has the errors pointed out in the error analysis. 

B

astronomers have found conclusive proof confirming that dwarf galaxies orbit large galaxies in a well-defined route rather than in

Correct:   

1)    This sentence corrects the meaning error by making “dwarf galaxies orbit” a separate clause. Now the meaning is clear that the proof confirms “something” about the dwarf galaxies.

2)    The sentence also get rids of the pronoun “that of” and maintains the parallelism between “in a well-defined route” and “in chaotic paths”.

C

astronomers have found conclusive proof that confirms dwarf galaxies having a well-defined route to orbit large galaxies in rather than

This choice repeats the meaning error of Choice A.  Also, the meaning of “in” is not clear because of its placement before “rather than”.

D

conclusive proof found by astronomers confirms a well-defined route for dwarf galaxies to orbit large galaxies rather than

Incorrect:

1)    The opening verb-ing modifier illogically modifies “conclusive proof”, suggesting that the conclusive proof did the analysis.

2)    Per this choice, the proof confirms “a well-defined route”. Well, this is not absolutely incorrect, but the way this choice is worded, it fails to bring out the intended meaning in a precise and clear manner.

E

conclusive proof has been found by astronomers confirming that dwarf galaxies orbit large galaxies in a well-defined route rather than in

 Incorrect:  

1)    This choice repeats the modifier error of Choice C.

2)    Per this choice, astronomers confirm something about the dwarf galaxies. This changes the intended meaning because the proof does that job.

Although common moles cannot see, they possess a remarkable “stereo” system of olfactory awareness resembling those of rats, a system that combines smells accessed independently by both nostrils and makes the mole highly efficient at tracking an odor to its source.

Meaning Analysis  

• Although common moles cannot see,
• they possess a remarkable “stereo” system of olfactory awareness
  • • resembling those of rats,
  • a system
    • that
      • combines smells
        • accessed independently by both nostrils
      • and makes the mole highly efficient at tracking an odor to its source. 

This sentence tells us that even though common moles don’t have sight, they have an extraordinary “stereo” system of olfactory consciousness. This system is similar to that of rats. It combines smells that are accessed separately by both nostrils and makes moles highly efficient at tracking an odor to its source. 

Error Analysis

The plural pronoun “those” does not agree in number with the singular antecedent “system”. 

Note that the noun + noun modifier “a system that…” is used correctly in this sentence to describe the olfactory system of moles.

Answer Choices

A

resembling those of rats, a system that combines smells accessed independently by both nostrils and makes

Incorrect:       

This choice has the errors pointed out in the error analysis.

B

that resembles that of rats and combines smells accessed independently by both nostrils, which make 

Incorrect:       

The relative pronoun modifier “which” incorrectly modifies the preceding noun “nostrils”. It is the entire system that makes the moles efficient at tracking odors.

C

resembling that of rats and combining smells accessed independently by both nostrils that make 

Incorrect:       

Like choice B, this choice also has a modifier error since the relative pronoun modifier “that” incorrectly modifies the preceding noun “nostrils”.

D

that resembles those of rats and combines smells accessed independently by both nostrils, which makes    

Incorrect:       

1)     This choice has the same comparison error as in choice A. 

2)     The relative pronoun modifier “which” should logically refer to the action “combines”. This usage is grammatically incorrect since a pronoun can refer only to a noun.

E

resembling a rat’s, a system combining smells accessed independently by both nostrils and making   

Correct:       

This choice corrects the only error of the original sentence by removing “those of”. The possessive form “rat’s” refers to “a rat’s ‘stereo’ system”.    

Like a protein rich diet that the healthy genes need to produce amino acids, the healthy genes diminishing is due to more and more people adopting an urban lifestyle, in which they tend to cook less, eating more processed food and fast food.

Meaning Analysis

This sentence states a few facts as follows:

1: Protein rich diet is needed by healthy genes to produce amino acids.

2: Healthy genes are diminishing since people are adopting urban lifestyle.

3: Because of urban lifestyle, people tend to cook less. This leads to them eating more processed and fast food.

It also states a comparison as follows: Like protein rich diet, healthy genes are diminishing due to reasons…Thus, in essence, both protein rich diet and healthy genes are diminishing because of same set of reasons.

This question tests your ability to set up the comparison correctly i.e. to make the comparison logically and grammatically parallel. It also tests your ability to ensure that all modifiers are placed appropriately. In addition, it tests your ability to identify lists correctly.

Error Analysis

The original sentence compares “protein rich diet” to “healthy genes diminishing”. This is not a correct comparison because it is not logical to say that protein rich diet is due to more and more people adopting an urban lifestyle. The correct comparison should be between “protein rich diet” and “healthy genes”.

Answer Choices

A

the healthy genes diminishing is due to more and more people adopting an urban lifestyle, in which they tend to cook less, eating more processed food and

This choice is incorrect for the reasons discussed in the error analysis.

B

the healthy genes diminishing due to more and more people adopting an urban lifestyle is because they tend to cook less, eat more processed food, and

This choice is incorrect because of multiple reasons:

1: Incorrect comparison is established as in Choice A

2: Intended meaning of original choice has been distorted because now the sentence implies as if there are multiple types of healthy genes diminishing (which is non-sensical), and the one that is due to people adoption urban lifestyle is because they tend to cook less.

3: Incorrect list identified – The list in this choice is incorrect since all three elements do not talk about same thing. Note that 'they cook less' is a separate entity which leads to eating two things 'processed foods' and 'fast foods'. Thus, combining these three entities into one list is incorrect.

C

the healthy genes are diminishing as more and more people adopt an urban lifestyle, in which they tend to cook less, eating more processed food and

Correct

D

the healthy genes are diminishing as more and more people adopt an urban lifestyle cooking less and eating more processed food and

This choice has modifier error since the modifier 'cooking less' appears to modify the preceding noun 'lifestyle' since it is not separated by a comma. This is non-sensical.

E

more and more people adopt an urban lifestyle leading to the diminishing of healthy genes, in which they tend to cook less, eating more processed food and

This choice is structured such that "protein rich diet" is compared to "more and more people". This is not a correct comparison because it is not logical to say that protein rich diets adopt an urban lifestyle the way people adopt.

In a competition designed by scientists studying the behavioral patterns of monkeys, more challenging tool-related problems were solved by monkeys from the great apes family as outside it.

Meaning Analysis

• In a competition designed by scientists studying the behavioral patterns of monkeys,
• more challenging tool-related problems were solved by monkeys from the great apes family
  • as outside it.                  

This sentence tells us about a competition that was designed by scientists who were studying the behavior of monkeys. In this competition, monkeys belonging to the great apes family solved more challenging tool-related problems than did monkeys outside this particular species.

Error Analysis

There is an idiom error in the sentence. “More” should be followed by “than”, not “as”. 

Answer Choices

A

as

Incorrect:

This choice has the error pointed out in the error analysis. 

B

as solved

Incorrect:

This choice has the same idiom error as in choice A.

C

than 

Correct:

This choice correctly uses “than” after “more”.

Note that ellipsis is used correctly in this choice. It indicates that more challenging tool-related problems were solved by monkeys from the great apes family than were solved by monkeys outside it.

D

than had been solved

Incorrect:

Use of the past perfect tense is not correct as there is no sequencing between the two events.   Note that the intended logic of the sentence is to compare two events that happened at the same time. 

E

than had 

Incorrect:      

This choice has the same verb tense error as in choice D.  Furthermore, in this choice, ellipsis has been used and “been solved” after “had” has been omitted.  This omission is not correct since the expression “been solved” does not appear anywhere else in the sentence.  

Unlike the African elephant, whose trunk contains two fingers used to grasp and eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark, the Asian elephant’s trunk has only one finger, so it cannot grab food as precisely as its African counterpart. 

Meaning Analysis

• Unlike the African elephant,
  • whose trunk contains two fingers
    • used to grasp and eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark,
• the Asian elephant’s trunk has only one finger,
  • so it cannot grab food as precisely as its African counterpart.      

This sentence compares the African elephant with the Asian elephant. It says that the African elephant’s trunk has two fingers at its end, which are used to grasp and eat foods such as roots, grasses, fruit, and bark. It is unlike the trunk of the Asian elephant, which has only one finger at the end of its trunk. So, the Asian elephant is not able to grab food as precisely as the African elephant.

Error Analysis

1)     This sentence compares the African elephant with the Asian elephant’s trunk. This comparison is illogical.

2)     The pronoun “it” at the end of the underlined portion should refer to “the Asian elephant.” However, this noun is missing from the sentence since only its possessive form is present.

Answer Choices

A

Unlike the African elephant, whose trunk contains two fingers used to grasp and eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark, the Asian elephant’s trunk has only one finger, so it

Incorrect:          

This choice has the errors pointed out in the error analysis. 

B

Unlike the African elephant’s trunk, which contains two fingers used to grasp and eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark, the Asian elephant’s trunk has only one finger, thus the Asian elephant 

Incorrect:          

The two independent clauses “the Asian elephant’s trunk has…” and “thus the Asian elephant…” are joined using just a comma. This is incorrect since we need either “comma + FANBOYS” or a semicolon to join ICs. Note that “thus” cannot be used to join two ICs.

C

Compared to that of the African elephant, which has two fingers used by them to grasp and eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark, the trunk of the Asian elephant has only one finger, and 

Incorrect:          

1)     The plural pronoun “them” does not agree with the singular noun “the African elephant” in number. 

2)     The logical subject for the verb “cannot grab” in the non-underlined portion is “the Asian elephant.” However, in this choice, the subject of this verb is “the trunk of the Asian elephant.”

D

Dissimilar to the African elephant, which has a trunk with two fingers that are used to grasp and eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark, the Asian elephant has a one-fingered trunk,

Incorrect:          

Since the verb “has” in the underlined portion and the verb “cannot grab” in the non-underlined portion are both for the subject “the Asian elephant,” they should be connected with a parallelism marker.

E

The African elephant, which has a trunk with two fingers used to grasp and eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark, is unlike the Asian elephant, which has a trunk with only one finger and hence

Correct:       

This choice presents a logical comparison between the African elephant and the Asian elephant.   

In 2001, Hispanic workers in California earned on an average twelve dollars a week less than Caucasian workers had; by 2013, they were earning almost six dollars less. 

Meaning Analysis  

• In 2001, Hispanic workers in California earned on an average twelve dollars a week less
  • than Caucasian workers had;
• by 2013, they were earning almost six dollars less.

The sentence presents a comparison. It says that in 2001, the average difference of weekly salary between Hispanic workers in California and Caucasian workers in California was $12.  By 2013, this difference reduced to almost $6. 

Error Analysis

Use of the past perfect tense verb in the clause “Caucasian workers had (earned)” is incorrect. This verb tense implies that Caucasian workers had earned their wages before Hispanic workers earned theirs. However, it is clear from the context of the sentence that these actions happened at the same time.  This is the only error in the sentence.  

Answer Choices

A

Caucasian workers had; by 2013, they were earning almost six dollars less

Incorrect: This choice has the error pointed out in the error analysis.  

B

Caucasian workers had earned, a figure that was almost six dollars less by 2013

Incorrect:

This sentence retains the verb tense error of Choice A.   

C

Caucasian workers did; this figure had decreased to almost six dollars by 2013

Correct:

This indeed is the correct answer. The simple past tense verbs “earned” and “did” correctly present actions from the past. Also notice that the use of the past perfect tense verb “had decreased” is correct because the figure had already decreased before the year 2013. Note that in this sentence the sequenced action is not expressed using a verb but it is expressed by using the time marker “by 2013”.    

Also, note that “this figure” correctly refers to the difference in the average amount of money earned by Hispanic and Caucasian workers. So, this choice correctly retains the intended meaning.

D

Caucasian workers, which was almost six dollars less by 2013    

Incorrect:

The relative pronoun modifier “which” now illogically modifies “Caucasian workers”. 

E

had Caucasian workers, a figure that had decreased to almost six dollars less by 2013    

Incorrect:

1)    This choice also repeats the verb tense error of Choice A. 

2)    “Less” is redundant when used with “decreased”.   

Using psilocybin, the naturally occurring psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms, as medicine to treat patients with depression is still a taboo for many doctors in the present, as that for those in the past.

Meaning Analysis

• Using psilocybin,
  • the naturally occurring psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms,
• as medicine to treat patients with depression is still a taboo for many doctors in the present, as that for those in the past.                    

This sentence presents information about the use of psilocybin, which is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms. 

The intended comparison in the sentence is that the use of psilocybin is a taboo for the doctors in the present as it was for doctors in the past.

Error Analysis

Here, “as” is used to present a comparison between two things:

1. Using psilocybin was a taboo for doctors in the past.
2. Using psilocybin is still a taboo for many doctors in the present

Notice that the first compared entity is a clause.  Thus to maintain grammatical parallelism, the second entity should also be a clause.  This sentence therefore has a comparison error.   Note carefully that after “as,” the sentence has a noun phrase starting with the pronoun “that” – that for those in the past.    Furthermore, there is no logical antecedent for the pronoun “that”. 

PS:  The pronoun “those” correctly refers to “doctors.”

Answer Choices

A

as that for those in the past

Incorrect:

This choice has the error pointed out in the error analysis. 

B

as have those in the past

Incorrect:   

1)     The present tense verb “have” is incorrectly used to present an event from the past.

2)     Also, the intended comparison is not clear in this choice. The verb “have” does not correspond to the verb in the first entity being compared, which is “is”.       

C

as it was for those in the past

Correct:    

The intended comparison is clear as this choice conveys the meaning that using psilocybin was a taboo for the doctors in the past. In this choice “it” correctly refers to “using psilocybin”. Also, the verbs “is” and “was” are logically as well as grammatically parallel.

D

as those in the past did

Incorrect:

The intended comparison is not clear.  This choice conveys the meaning that the doctors did something in the past. However, what doctors did in the past is not clear, and it can’t be compared to the fact that using psilocybin is still a taboo for the doctors. The verb “did” in the second item in the comparison does not correspond to the verb “is” in the first item.

E

like that for those in the past

Incorrect:

In the context of this sentence, usage of “like” is not correct.  When preceded by a comma, the noun after “like” is compared to the subject of the preceding clause. Since the subject of the preceding clause here is “using psilocybin”, the comparison presented by the sentence is that “using psilocybin is still a taboo for doctors like using psilocybin (= that) for doctors (=for those) in the past”. This comparison certainly makes no sense.

Like the support for Arizona’s immigration legislation that is required for the legislation to become a law, dwindling of the number of politicians supporting the law is due to the increase in proportion of Hispanic population in the state.

Meaning Analysis

The sentence presents a comparison – it says that the support for Arizona’s immigration legislation is falling just as the number of politicians supporting the law is falling.

The question tests your ability to understand the sentence structure and identify the correct elements in a comparison.

Error Analysis

This sentence presents illogical comparison - “the support for legislation” is compared with “dwindling of the number of politicians” – this is illogical. The comparable entities are “the support for legislation” and “the number of politicians”.

Answer Choices

A

dwindling of the number of politicians supporting the law is due to the increase in

Incorrect. Errors as identified.

B

the number of politicians supporting the law is dwindling because of the increasing

Correct. Comparison of "the support for legislation" and "the number of politicians" is logical and in line with the intended meaning. Use of "because of" is also correct. 

C

due to the increased number of politicians supporting the law there is dwindling in

Incorrect. The meaning is heavily distorted. The comparison is not clear. 

D

the number of politicians who support the law are dwindling because of the increasing

Incorrect. SV disagreement: Plural verb "are" for a singular subject "the number of politicians"

E

the number of politicians supporting the law dwindling because of the increasing

Incorrect. SV Pair: There is no verb for the subject "the number of politicians". 

In spite of discovering new sources of oil exploration in the Canadian oil sands and along the Norwegian coast, OPEC estimates oil companies, in order to conserve margins, to be more conservative in setting exploration targets than they have been in the past

Meaning Analysis

• In spite of discovering new sources of oil exploration in the Canadian oil sands and along the Norwegian coast,

• OPEC estimates oil companies,
  • in order to conserve margins,
• to be more conservative in setting exploration targets than
• they have been in the past.

The sentence presents a contrast. It states that even though new sources of oil have been discovered, OPEC estimates oil companies to be more conservative in setting exploration targets than they have been in the past.

Error Analysis

SV – The subject verb pairs have been indicated below:

1. OPEC - estimates
2. Oil companies - to be more conservative
3. They - have been

All the SV pairs agree in number.

Verbs – The verb tenses have been used correctly to communicate the intended meaning.

Pronouns – The pronoun “they” unambiguously refers to “oil companies”.  Note that the meaning of the sentence is very clear.  The author compares two things:

1. In the future – oil companies will be more conservative
2. In the past – oil companies have not been this conservative

Note that it does not make logical sense for “they” to refer to targets.  Here is the sentence with “they” referring to “targets”.

• OPEC estimates oil companies to be more conservative in setting targets than targets have been in the past.
  • In this version of the sentence, the comparison is no longer clear. 
    • The author intended to compare the oil companies action in the past and the estimated action in the future. 
    • This comparison structure instead compares action of oil companies in the future with the level of targets in the past.
• Thus, logically, “they” cannot refer to “targets”.

Parallelism – The construction in this sentence is absolutely parallel.

1. OPEC estimates
   1. oil companies to be more conservative in doing something
   2. than the oil companies have been in the past.

So essentially the state of oil companies has been compared.  What its state will be in the future with what its state was in the past.  Logically this comparison is absolutely parallel.  Note that different verb tenses have been used but that is acceptable to communicate the intended meaning since the comparison has two elements – one in the future and the other in the past. 

Idioms – This sentence uses a construction with the word “estimates”.  This word can be used in the following ways:

1. A estimates B to do C
2. A estimates that B does C

Note that this choice uses the first construction.

This choice is correct as is. 

Answer Choices

A

oil companies, in order to conserve margins, to be more conservative in setting exploration targets than they have been

Correct

B

oil companies, in order to conserve margins, to set exploration targets more conservatively than they were

The simplified version of this choice is as follows: (only including the comparison aspect)

OPEC estimates oil companies to set targets more conservatively than they were in the past.

Notice the comparison here.

1. Oil companies to set targets
   1. more conservatively than
2. They were in the past.

This choice has two errors:

1. Verb Tense:
   1. Notice per the intended meaning, the state in the past time frame was expressed as “have been”, indicating a progressive action.
   2. Now notice in this choice, the action/state in the past time frame has been expressed using “were”, indicating a point in time action. 
      1. Thus, the verb tense does not communicate the intended meaning.
2. Meaning - This choice communicates ambiguous meaning as explained below.

The construction of this choice is such that the pronoun “they” may refer to either of the two nouns, leading in both cases concrete errors.

“they” refers to “targets”:

• Oil companies to set
  • Targets
    • More conservatively than
  • The targets were set in the past.

In this case, notice that the word “set” has been repeated. Now this reference while leads to logical meaning, changes the intended meaning.  Per the original choice, it was clear that it is the oil companies that set the targets in the past as well.  But per this choice, since the construction “the targets were set” has been used, we longer know who is the one who set these targets.  Thus, this reference of “they” leads to change in meaning of the intended sentence and hence is not correct.

“they” refers to “oil companies”:

• Oil companies to set Targets
  • More conservatively than
• The oil companies were set in the past.

In this case, notice that the word “set” has been repeated.  In fact, the only form of word “set” that can be repeated here is “set”.  We cannot repeat the word “setting” since this form does not appear anywhere in the sentence. 

And hence you can see that this sentence is grammatically as well as logically incorrect.  Per this choice “companies were set in the past”.  This is non-sensical.

Thus, choice B is incorrect. 

C

oil companies to conserve margins and to set exploration targets more conservatively than they have

• In spite of discovering new sources of oil exploration in the Canadian oil sands and along the Norwegian coast,
• OPEC estimates oil companies
  • to conserve margins and
  • to set exploration targets
    • more conservatively than they have in the past.

This choice changes the intended meaning of the sentence by creating a list that is different from that in the original choice. Notice how the two elements in list per this choice are "to conserve margins", "to set exploration targets". This is not the intended meaning because per the original sentence, the exploration targets are to be set in order to conserve margins. This purpose is not expressed appropriately in this answer choice.

D

that oil companies conserve margins, set exploration targets more conservatively than they have been

 This choice has similar error as discussed in choice C.

E

that oil companies, so that they conserve margins, will be more conservative than they have been in setting of exploration targets

• In spite of discovering new sources of oil exploration in the Canadian oil sands and along the Norwegian coast,

• OPEC estimates that oil companies,
  • so that they conserve margins,
• will be more conservative
• than they have been in setting of exploration targets in the past.

This choice has two errors.

• Comparison Error:

Notice that the sentence seems to convey that the setting of exploration targets happened only in the past. This is not the case. Here are some possible ways to present the intended comparison:

• By moving “in setting of exploration targets”
  • Oil companies will be more conservative in setting of exploration targets than they have been in the past.
    • In this case, the comparison became clear and unambiguous with the correct placement of "in setting of exploration targets”. 
• By removing “in the past”
  • Oil companies will be more conservative than they have been in setting of exploration targets.
    • Notice that “have been” provides the needed context that this is the event that happened in the past.
    • “in setting of exploration” now unambiguously applies to both the items of comparison and is not restricted to just “in the past”.

• Idiom Error

The usage "so that they conserve.." is awkward here. "so that..." is typically used to provide purpose of an action.  In this case, no such action has been stated.  Consider the following sentence which illustrates the usage of "so that".

Michael gave money to the hospital so that the hospital management could buy the equipment needed for lab tests.

In a large number of developing countries, regular employment is still elusive to a large proportion of young graduates, like that for their earlier generations

Meaning Analysis

This sentence presents comparison. It states that in a large number of developing countries, a large proportion of young graduates are facing the same problem their earlier generations faced: they are not able to find a regular employment.

The question tests your ability to identify the correct comparison and use appropriate grammatical structure to express it.

Error Analysis

Per the intended meaning, we need to say that “regular employment is elusive” to young generation, as the case was with their earlier generations. However, “that” cannot stand for the clause and can either refer to young graduates or regular employment. Neither of the reference leads to a logical comparison

Answer Choices

A

like that for

Incorrect. Errors as identified.

B

like

Incorrect - Illogical comparison – regular employment is compared to earlier generations. It means that “regular employment” is elusive for younger generation. So was “their earlier generation”. This is illogical.

C

as it was for

Correct. Elusiveness of regular employment is compared and "as" is used to compare two clauses.

D

Just as

Incorrect use of "as". When followed by a noun "as" presents function and not comparison. "as earlier generations" implies that "Regular employment" played function of earlier generations. This is illogical.

E

as are

Incorrect - Same illogical comparison between the subject "regular employment" and "their earlier generations".